Sensors are typically used in connection with performing monitoring, diagnostics, lifing, and control operations of large pieces of equipment such as gas, steam, and wind turbines, generators, and boilers. Such equipment typically resides in harsh, limited access environments. A major barrier to the wider deployment of new sensors in such environments is the need to install separate power and signal wire conduits for each sensor individually. Signal and power wires are expensive to install in power generation applications, since they must survive for long periods of time in harsh environments, and often must be certified for use in potentially hazardous environments. This increases the cost and therefore the ability to deploy advanced sensing technologies in such environments. Radio frequency based wireless communication solutions are expensive, and not well suited to harsh environments.